Met Police reports a Rape per week in London Bars and Clubs

The Metropolitan police reported that the equivalent of one rape per week occurs in London’s bars and clubs. The assaults that are reported to the police, totalled up to 1,008 assaults and 200 rapes in the past five years.

More worryingly, less than half of the rapes resulted in an arrest and suspects have been charged in less than ten per cent of cases.

Over the past five years, only 82 out of the 200 people related to the rape allegations, were detained, with only 19 of those suspects being charged.

Cities across the globe are constantly in the media’s limelight, reporting abuse and rape towards women. Delhi especially, has been picked up for being unforgiving and abusive towards their women, allowing the nation to dismiss how rape is still occurring in the UK.

According to the charity Rape Crisis 85,000 women and 12,000 men are raped each year in England and Wales but only a mere 15 per cent of victims report the crime to police.

The ‘one rape per week’ figures are also thought to be an underestimation of how many rapes actually occur. Speaking to The Standard, Molly Ackhurst said:

“From what we know about the prevalence of sexual violence these figures do not surprise us. In fact the figures are most probably far higher.

“Currently about 15 per cent of all incidents of sexual violence are reported to police because reporting is often terrifying.”

Ackhurst, who works for Hollaback – an anti harassment organisation-, also stated how reporting rapes in the UK has actually increased.

“It is also important to note that while there has been an increase in reporting, the figures continue to show us that sexual violence is not being taken seriously enough.”

“Although there was a 136 per cent increase in reporting between 2011 and 2016, between 2015 and 2016 only 32 per cent of those arrested on suspicion of rape had criminal charges brought against them.

“This disparity between reporting and convictions is largely to do with the prevalence of myths around sexual violence within the criminal justice system, and the fact that these attacks are occurring in drug and alcohol venues.

Many women are further blamed and silenced because of this.”

Hollaback allows people to voice any harassment they have experienced, and run a campaign offering training to staff in licensed venues on how to deal with and prevent harassment.